The Effects of Psychology on Students
by Blair Sloan
Summary: A new class leads to psychoanalysis and many interesting theories on behavior.


**Title: **The Effects of Psychology on Students

**Author: **Blair Sloan

**Rating: **T; could possibly be raised in the future

**Length: **Novella

**Summary: **A new class leads to psychoanalysis and many interesting theories on behavior.

"_There is no psychology; there is only biography and autobiography." -Thomas Szasz_

* * *

The compartment door slammed shut with a bang. The two occupants looked up to see a harassed looking, slim brunette leaning against the glass. A gold badge winked brightly on her robes. Her books were clasped against her chest, wavy hair disheveled and brown eyes widened in annoyance as she exhaled with a sigh and moved to sit in between Harry and Ron on the maroon seats as they yelped excitedly to see her. 

"What's wrong, Hermione?" Harry inquired, noticing her frustrated expression.

"Malfoy." She huffed, as if that explained everything. And it most certainly did. Through seven years, it seemed hatred did not die between Draco Malfoy and the Golden Trio. Hermione leaned over Ron to gaze out the window at the quickly moving landscape.

A quiet knock sounded on the door, and it slid open. Traipsing in was Neville Longbottom (still ungainly and clumsy as ever, but slightly taller), Ginny Weasley (who, after her hair darkened to a rich auburn, had become quite the guy magnet), and Luna Lovegood (still eternally loony).

Hermione bit her lip as she surveyed the three across the compartment. "Do any of you know who received Head Boy? I still haven't figured it out." She rubbed her Head Girl badge unconsciously as she gazed at the shaking heads of her companions.

Luna spoke up at the silence of her friends. "My father says that Head Boy and Girl are just a way for the students to gain a method of infiltration into the secret society that they will one day be a part of…"

She was cut of by load groans from the rest of the compartment and a loud, "Don't even start!" by Ron.

Luna mumbled something under her breath and turned away from the others in the cabin, as Ginny turned to Neville to chat about some new wizard band.

Harry prodded Hermione on the shoulder, receiving a grumble of dissatisfaction. Ron dodged the whip of her hair as she turned to face him in the seat. "You never told us what you were up to this summer, Hermione."

The girl shrugged. "This and that."

"Oh, come on Hermione! We haven't seen you in practically three months, you rarely wrote… You owe us some sort of explanation."

"I was… busy." She muttered, turning away from Ron, only to be intervened on the other side by Harry. "Oh, fine!" She threw her hands up in surrender. "I've been taking classes at the local community college."

"What's that?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at the reaction. "Of course you wouldn't know, Ron. It's a muggle school."

"But you're already in school."

"Three cheers for Captain Obvious." Hermione's dry tone was not lost on Harry, who chuckled but tried to disguise it with a cough, and only ended up choking.

"Seriously, 'Mione. Why do you need any more school?" Ron asked, red flaming up his cheeks.

"I guess I don't really. But there's nothing wrong with striving for more in an education, right? It's interesting to learn about muggle history, something I don't learn here. And you can only learn so much from books."

Four sets of eyes widened. Hermione Granger admitting that books only go so far. No, it was impossible.

"What?" ventured Harry. "What did you say?"

Hermione began to blush a little. "You heard me, didn't you? Books only go so far. I understand it now."

"Which classes did you take, Hermione?" asked Neville, ignoring the fact that his companions were still goggling at the slender brunette witch. Though still smaller than the other boys, his round-faced innocence had matured into a thin, wiry young man with hair that was slicked back constantly.

Hermione shrugged lightly. "Oh, you know, the regular. English, math, some chemistry, World History, Vietnam in the 1960's, Economics, Shakespeare's Works, art, and photography. But I didn't have enough time to fit in American history, engineering or psychology."

Harry and Ron rolled their eyes. There was the Hermione they knew and loved. The two boys hadn't changed much through the past seven years. Lanky and freckled, Ron had kept his bright red hair where Ginny's had darkened. He was thin as a rail, and his hair tufted up in places, making him looking rather comical. Harry's green eyes, if anything, had brightened to celery, and his dark hair was no better-behaved than Ron's. He had developed a charming smile and was handsome enough to rival some of the best at Hogwarts, especially with the boost his popularity gave him; not having waned in any way.

"Sounds amazing." drawled Ron, sarcastically. "Hey Harry, did you hear about the Cannons? They just got a new seeker this year…"

Hermione sighed dejectedly, reached into her bag for her latest book, consequently about Napoleon and his conquests of Europe, and ignored them for the greater part of the rest of the train ride to Hogwarts.

* * *

Hermione followed her fellow Gryffindors intro the hall, lagging behind Harry and Ron, who were trading Quiddich horror stories with Seamus as Luna drifted toward the Ravenclaw table. Neville nudged her gently, nodding toward the teachers table as they sat at the long table designated for their house. "A new teacher." 

Hermione looked up at the table facing the four long house benches and scanned through the familiar faces. Indeed, at the end of the table, squashed between Hagrid and Professor Sprout, was a tall, lean woman with a hard face and long silvery hair that was wrapped in a tight bun at the back of her head. Professor Sprout leaned over to make a comment to the woman, who nodded and said something that made Sprout begin to chuckle.

"Whaddya think she teaches?" inquired Ginny, poking into their conversation as they took their seats.

"Dunno." Neville mumbled.

"None of the other teaches are gone." Hermione commented, after scrutinizing the head table. "They must be adding a new class! I can't wait to find out what it is… this will be so exciting!"

Her friends chuckled at her enthusiasm before returning to their previous conversations.

"Speaking of which…" Ginny smirked behind a cupped hand. "Have you been paying attention to the Prophet?"

Hermione frowned. "I don't understand what that has to do with new classes."

Ginny merely shrugged. "I guess it doesn't." Hermione rolled her eyes. "Anyway, last week, the newest member of the Cannons, Finn McCray, was on the cover. They did an interview. And he's _dreamy_, Hermione, just _dreamy._ You wouldn't believe his muscles!"

Ron paused in his conversations with Seamus and Harry to glance up at the staff table expectantly, then down at his plate. Once he realized the sorting was not yet over, he went back to his conversation with the two other boys on quiddich.

After the last sorting of a nervous looking boy: Young, Oscar, into Hufflepuff, Dumbledore finally stood up in front of the Great Hall.

"Welcome back to Hogwarts." Dumbledore began, a wide smile on his wizened face as he addressed the students. "And for the newcomers, welcome. But I shall save the announcements for later. For now, let the feasting begin."

The food appeared on the table and the Gryffindors didn't hesitate to dive into the meal. Hermione spooned some mashed potatoes onto her plate as Neville grabbed some peppermint hamburgers. The meal passed quickly, with the usual first meal characteristics, most of which included Harry and Ron stuffing their faces like they hadn't eaten in days. Hermione wrinkled her nose at Ron's atrocious table manners as she finished eating, trying not to look at him much.

Dumbledore stood once more behind the podium, his voice ringing throughout the Great Hall. "And now, a few quick announcements. Mr. Filch has asked me to remind you that any banned items seen in the hallways will be confiscated, and for a full count of those items, to please see the list in his office. As usual, the Forbidden Forest is indeed forbidden, and I would advise you not to ignore its name." He nodded slightly, with a look toward Harry, Ron and Hermione, obviously remembering their adventures in previous years.

"And lastly, we must welcome both a new teacher, and a new course. Professor Connolly will be teaching Psychology, which is mandatory for all sixth and seventh year students."

He waved his hand toward the new teacher, who stood with a slight bow and a half smile on her face as she addressed the Hall.

This pronouncement was met with whispers from the students, as well as a few outraged cries that were no doubt from students who didn't want more classes. Hermione, however, merely had a large grin on her face as she turned to her friends.

"Psychology? This will be wonderful. So, I suppose it's okay that I didn't take it during the summer."

Ron shook his head. "Bloody hell, Hermione. Only you can be excited about another class being added. NEWT's are this year, remember? We're gonna have enough on our plate as it is! Plus, what about classes? We'll probably have them with the Slytherins, with our luck. "

"Don't be silly, Ronald." Hermione chastised. "And Psychology is undoubtedly one of the most important things that we could ever learn. It studies the behavior and mental processes of humans."

"What are you, a walking textbook?" Harry asked with a half-grin.

Hermione merely 'harrumphed', and crossed her arms over her chest. "Why I put up with you two is beyond me."

Harry and Ron merely chuckled.

* * *

Hermione walked down the halls next to Lavender and Parvati, half listening to what they were saying. 

"…I can't wait for that Psychology class…" Lavender was saying. "I really think Seamus and I are having some problems, you know… with our relationship. I really think that this Psychology whatsit will help, from what I've heard about the class, of course."

Parvati nodded. "I'm sure everything will be just fine, Lav. You and Seamus are meant for one another. But, what's the problem? Is he having trouble, well, you know, getting it up?" She giggled.

Lavender sighed. "He says it's not me, but…"

Hermione sighed, exasperated. "Psychology isn't about sex, guys. At least, not really. You learn about the mind, and people's behavior."

Parvati laughed. "Sex is a behavior."

Hermione just rolled her eyes. "Listen, I've gotta go to the Head Girl's room."

Lavender looked at her tearfully. "I'd almost forgotten. I just can't believe you won't be in the dormitory anymore."

Parvati nodded in agreement. "Whatever will we do without you, Hermione?"

"I'm sure you'll survive. You'll see me in class and whatnot, of course."

_Besides, _Hermione thought._ It's not as though they really talked to me all that much anyway. I just helped the two of them on homework every once in a while. Mostly they just talked about boys, and more recently, sex. _

"Well, I'll be off then." Hermione gave a slight wave toward the two girls as she walked toward the Head's Common room. Though she'd never been there before, she'd read about it many times, and the instructions came with her school letter. From what she understood, it was much more elegant than any of the rooms she'd been in before and, what was worse, she and Malfoy would share a common room.

She stopped in front of a gilded portrait of an elegant elderly couple. The woman wore a gown of a deep scarlet, her gray-lined chocolate hair cascaded down her back and her navy eyes twinkled at Hermione as she approached. Hugging her tight with one arm was a tall man, with wavy blonde hair and dark brown eyes who wore dark emerald robes and looked down at her with an aristocratic look on her face. Hermione mentally rolled her eyes. _Slytherin_, she thought, disgusted.

"Hello, dear. You must be Hermione." The woman in scarlet greeted her. "I'm Serena, and this is Zane."

"Yes, nice to meet you." Hermione answered, giving a little nod of respect. "Um, do I need to choose a password?"

Zane spoke up. "Young master Draco has already chosen a password."

"_What_? Draco's head boy?" Hermione half-screeched, clutching a hand to her head in disbelief. "Oh, my. Oh my word. Breathe, Hermione, Breathe." She counseled herself. Then she looked up at the couple with a pasted-on smile. "Alright. Wait, shouldn't we have chosen a password _together?_"

Zane looked taken aback. "Draco informed us that the two of you had chosen a password beforehand."

"Of course not! We never talk, unless it's to insult each other."

"I knew it seemed odd that he chose 'Silver Serpent' as a password, seeing as you're a Gryffindor." Serena mused, quietly.

"What's wrong with the password? I thought it was lovely." Zane informed Serena.

"You would." She snapped back. "Slytherin."

"Gryffindor." He hissed, poisonously.

"Um," Hermione broke in, hesitantly. "Could I get in now?"

"Of course dear." Serena smiled down at Hermione as the portrait opened, though the two could be heard bickering even after the portrait closed once more.

Hermione nearly gasped at the sight within. Though for mostly rooms, mixing red and green would give the room the feeling of a Christmas feast, for this one, it was magnificent. The room was nearly twice the size of Gryffindor's Common Room. A large oak table sat in the middle of the room with a chair at either end. She knew from her books that, if they chose, the Head Boy and Girl could be served privately in their common room. On the right side was a leather couch facing a wall of books, which Hermione eyed eagerly. Already, she could see titles, which she would've had difficulty possessing outside of the common room, on the shelves. On the other were two large, plush, overstuffed chairs in red and green facing a roaring fire. At the back were two marble staircases that ran in opposite directions toward the Head Boy and Girl's rooms, which were connected by a hallway.

Hermione walked through the common room, running her hand on the tables and chairs behind her and reveling in their silky feel. She paused to admire the majestic white staircase, before she trotted up it eagerly, ready to see her room for the first time.

The cherry door's brass nameplate read, in flourishing print, _Hermione Granger_. Hermione touched it gently, running her thin fingers over the chiseled words that formed her name. Slowly, she pushed open the door.

Inside was a flurry of red and gold. The floor was hardwood, a golden teak that was echoed in the wood of the bed, wardrobe and nightstands on either side of the gigantic beck. The scarlet and gold adorned sheets complimented the sleigh style of the bed. Hermione sighed in delight at the beauty of the large, elaborate room. Then, smiling softly to herself, she plopped herself on the bed and promptly stretched out in a reminiscent Renaissance Man position. She stared up at the white ceiling.

_I love my bedroom. _Hermione though to herself, her calm words nearly lulling her to sleep. Then, startled, she sat up. _I almost forgot. I've got to check out the bathroom!_

Hermione pulled herself off the luxurious bed and through the door that connected both her and Draco's rooms to the large, shared bathroom. It was just as lovely as she'd expected. Done in the same white marble as the staircases, the prominent feature was a gigantic tub that could fit nearly twelve of Hermione at once. White statues of mermaids, faeries and gargoyles guarded the tub in a cheery Greek fashion. Curiously, however, Hermione found no clue of Draco's presence anywhere in their quarters. Pleased at the prospect, even if only for a short while, Hermione took care of her toiletries and returned to her room.

Exhausted by the day's activities, Hermione collapsed on her bed, and within an instant, was sound asleep.


End file.
